Ballad of Easy Rider [Remaster]

Performer: The Byrds
Engineer: Jerry Hochman
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: The 1997 reissue of THE BALLAD OF EASY RIDER includes seven tracks that did not appear on the original LP; "Way Behind The Sun," "Mae Jean Goes To Hollywood," "Fiddler A Dram," "Build It Up," "The Ballad Of Easy Rider" and alternate versions of "Oil In My Lamp" and "Tulsa County." The Byrds: Gene Parsons (vocals, guitar, 5-string banjo, drums); Roger McGuinn (vocals, guitar, synthesizer); Clarence White (vocals, guitar); John York (vocals, bass). Producer: Terry Melcher. Reissue producer: Bob Irwin. Recorded between June 17, 1969 and August 26, 1969. Includes liner notes by David Fricke and Johnny Rogan. By 1969, the Byrds had already been through the Gram Parsons-fired country rock innovations of SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO, and had just lost Chris Hillman, the last original member except for Roger McGuinn. McGuinn was involved in so many extracurricular activities that he found little time to compose new material for EASY RIDER. His sole writing credit is the stellar title tune, co-written with Dylan for the famous biker film that gives this album its name (disliking the film, Dylan removed his name from the song). Fortuitously, McGuinn's taste in cover material and the compositional abilities of his bandmates more than made up for his lack of new material. McGuinn continued his experiments with combining old and new on an imaginative version of the traditional "Jack Tarr The Sailor," laced with synthesizer at a time when that instrument was barely being utilized in rock. Gene Parsons kicks in with one of the finest tunes of his career, "Gunga Din," a self-referential country-rocker that recalls the band's recent musical past. The balance of the album is a mixture of gentle folk-rock (Dylan and Woody Guthrie covers) and unabashed weirdness (the interstellar experimentalism of "Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins." All of it is eminently listenable.

Adding ringing electric guitars to Bob Dylan songs, the Byrds helped invent folk-rock, as well as becoming early proponents of psychedelia and popularizing country-rock with the help of alt-country saint Gram Parsons. Led by Roger McGuinn and his distinctive Rickenbacker guitar sound, the mid-1960s lineup--also featuring David Crosby, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman--achieved fame with their unique take on Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." Personnel changes resulted in a core band of only McGuinn and Hillman, but the short-lived addition of Parsons allowed for the creation of the landmark SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO album. Ultimately, McGuinn assumed full control of the Byrds legacy, and their harmonies and jangly guitars have influenced countless younger bands.

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